Generator fumes killed Joy Odama – Police

ABUJA— The controversies over how a 200 level student of Mass Communication Department in Cross River State University of Science and Technology, CRUTEC, Joy Odama, allegedly died in the house of one Alhaji Usman Adamu in Abuja, continued yesterday as the Police Force Headquarters released another autopsy report.

The first autopsy report from the National Hospital, Abuja, made available to her family revealed that Joy Odama died of acute cocaine poisoning.

However, the Police, yesterday, said contrary to that report, Joy died of generator fumes in Alhaji Adamu’s house.

Meanwhile, the Police, at a briefing by Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, failed to parade Adamu, the prime suspect, unlike other times when suspects were always paraded before newsmen to see and possibly ask probing questions.

Late Joy Odama

Family kicks

Reacting to the latest Police report that Odama died of generator fumes, the family flayed the Police authorities, saying the latter was being economical with the truth, insisting that their daughter died of cocaine infusion as shown in the first autopsy report.

The family of the deceased wondered why the police was shielding the suspect.

President, Basic Rights Enlightenment Foundation, BREF, Augustine Okechukwu, reacting on behalf of the family, said: “We are not aware if the suspect is in police custody.

“We doubt the claim by the Police that Alhaji Adamu is in its custody. Why can’t the police for once parade him for people to see?”

On the autopsy result, he said: “I was there when the police conducted the second autopsy, but they refused to give us the final results when it came out.”

It’ll go to court—Police

However, in reaction to the allegations, Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent Jimoh Moshood, said: “We don’t have any contradictions with regard to what we have said. The issue of murder is a capital offence, which cannot be compromised at any level; it has to go to court.

“Anybody has the right to go to court to table any grievances that they might have observed or felt had happened in the course of the investigation into the matter.

“I want to assure you that what the police have done is a very thorough job that can stand the test of trial in court against the accused person. As I speak, the accused person is still in Police custody and that is very important to everyone to ensure that justice is done.”

New report not exonerating suspect—FPPRO

Moshood noted that the first autopsy report was not rejected by the police, but that it was inconclusive, noting that it was why the Inspector General of Police had to order for another autopsy to be done.

He added that the report does not exonerate the suspect in question and the general public should dissociate themselves from the conflicting reports.

His words: “I want to say that we did not reject the first autopsy report. The first autopsy report was not conclusive.

“Dr. Jubril was the person that did the first one that I showed you and he was present when the second one was conducted by Dr. Wilson Ayewu and we equally had Augustine Okechukwu of Basic Rights Enlightenment Foundation at the second round of the autopsy and it was done at the National Hospital, Abuja.

“The report of the second autopsy is not exonerating the suspect and that is what is important. The prosecution will still go ahead. We should disabuse our mind of any conflicting view as to whether Police is out to exonerate the principal suspect in this regard.”